Sweet Dreams
by TynxCann
Summary: What was Haruka's dream when he was little?


"_Hey Haru, why do you like swimming so much?" asks a small child with blazing red hair and eyes. Tilting his head to the side a small smile dominated his face as he twirled a small pair of goggles in his tiny hands; curiosity dominated his eyes._

_Said Haru just shrugged his shoulders. Looking down at the ground with barren eyes he supported his head against the palm of his hands as he stares vigorously at the small ant hill just feet away from his bare feet. "I don't know… do I have to have a reason?"_

"_No, but just wanted to know, cause I do," grins the red head._

"_What is your reason Rin?" Asks a blond kid who stood in front of both kids. Hands clutch below his chin in an adorable manner, making some question his gender._

"_I am going to train to be the best in the world and go to the Olympics," says Rin giving a triumphant smile while he waves his hands in the air showing how big the best is._

"_Wow, that's amazing! I wish I could be the best too," says the blond kid known as Nagisa who was admiring Rin for his amazing goal._

'_Yup, it's my dream."_

_Haru merely sighs at this and continues to stare at the ant hill and at all the ants that come in and out of it; either carrying in some food, or coming out to bring some more back. Must be nice to trust and work together as a family he thinks. Sighing heavily he tries to divert his mind from the ill thoughts that began flashing through his mind and tries to think about something more comfortable. Just thinking about those things brings a sudden chill down his spine causing him to shift against the park benches._

"_Haru-chan," feeling something shake him he looks away and turns to his right to stare at his friend Makoto. "What 's wrong?"_

_Whether it is a small shudder or grimace at the face Makoto always knew when Haruka felt odd or uncomfortable with something. Even if the signs flashed by his face, or quickly receded from doing strange body movements he could always catch them on time for him to furrow his eyebrows in worry over what was wrong with Haruka. They were best friends after all._

_Haruka merely shakes his head with a bite to his lip, "I'm okay," he assures. "It's just really cold."_

_Summer was quickly leaving them like the birds in the sky as autumn came falling down on them like the leaves that littered the park. A slight breeze blew through the park several times leaving all of them to shudder on impact and burrow themselves into their cozy sweaters._

_"Ok," Makoto nods his head in agreement and goes back to swinging his legs over the bench._

_Sighing in relief Haruka turns to look back at the ant hill which is now being terrorized by a pair of five year olds. They kick and giggle in joy as the tall ant hill becomes obliterated to nothing more but a puddle of dark sand that use to be but a mountain. Poor things, Haruka feels sorry for them, now the ant families will fall apart, and what will become of them now. He pities them, but not enough to go and help, he believes he shouldn't._

_"…ru…Haru!" yells an aggravated voice._

_Snapping back to reality Haruka looks wide eyed towards Rin who has his hands on his hips and a scowl on his face._

_"Hm?"_

_"What do you mean by 'hm?' I've been calling you for a long time now!"_

_"What is it?"_

_"I was asking you what is your dream?"_

_A frown places itself on Haruka's face; he was hoping they wouldn't have asked him this question. Trying to divert his eyes from their attention he goes to look back at the ant hill where the five year olds are now screaming in terror as armies of ants jumble out and protect their home from any intruders. Haruka's pity soon turns into sympathy. How lucky, if only he was like that then maybe he wouldn't be diverting their questions and giving them those clear answer. Alas, life isn't gumdrops and lollipops, more life pain and suffering._

_The bluet shrugs his shoulders. His dream, his dream was as clear as day, yet mysterious as the night. He has a dream, he had a dream, and now has a dream again. The wheel went back and forth between having a dream and not having a dream, but it finally stopped somewhere in between of yes and no, a pot he didn't not feel comfortable being placed in at all. He had a dream, like any little kid who loved swimming he had that simple dream of just being able to swim forever and ever, but that one was on the bottom of his priority list. Right now the one dream at the top was more like a wish than a dream._

_"Eh?! You don't know, what do you mean you don't know?" says Rin flabbergasted. "All kids should have dreams, that's what my mom told me."_

_"Well I don't, so just stop pestering me about it."_

"_Eh? Come on Haru-chan, you have to have at least one dream, something, it doesn't matter, doesn't even have to be about swimming," continues Nagisa and Rin._

_"No."_

_"Haru! Tell us!"_

_"Come on Haru-chan!" They both whine_

_"Are you sure you don't have at least one?" asks Makoto eyeing him for answers._

_Sighing Haru knows that there's no other way out of this or they'll keep pestering him 'till the end of time. Quickly stands up and looks Rin in the eyes, "okay, I have a dream, there happy."_

"_Then what is it then?" he asks._

"_Not telling."_

"_Why?" pouts Nagisa and Rin._

_Makoto chuckles at their determination. "Come one Haru-chan, what's wrong with telling us?"_

_Seriously, can they be any more annoying. He may have a dream but Haruka isn't going to make it a priority to tell them what it is, at least not now._

_Crossing his arms Haru shakes his head." No, I… I'll tell you when my dream comes true," he says with a slight tremble in his voice. The thoughts from before pass his mind like a moving shadow causing him to gulp back that lump in his throat._

"_Fine, but remember, you better tell us, okay?" says Rin with a determined look on his face._

_Haru nods._

"_Promise?" asks Nagisa with his pinky finger out. Haru nods and curls his pinky with Nagisa's._

"_Okay, not that that is settled, I have to go now, bye!" Saying his goodbyes Rin runs out of the park and towards his mother and sister who were waiting for him with smiles on their faces._

_Haru frowns at this. The lump in his throat grows bigger in size as the contents in his stomach churn with anxiety._

"_Here's my sister, I have to go, bye, see you next week," says Nagisa going over to a female blond._

_His hear beats accelerates as sweat drips from his forehead despite the chilly weather._

_Waving at him as well Haru looks at Makoto who now staring over at a woman and man who were waving at him to come over. "I have to go to, are you going to be okay?" asks a worried Makoto._

"_Don't worry, my parents are going to come soon," reassures Haru._

_Nodding Makoto says his goodbye and goes to his mom and dad, jumping into their arms._

_How nice._

_Waiting until everyone left Haru begins to slowly walk out of the park and towards home where he knew his parents would be waiting for him. Walking through the barren streets in the cold, dark night, Haru felt no fear at the thought of someone coming kidnapping, since it could have been a reason for him not to go home. Reaching the stairs he takes every step slow and cautiously as he stares at his now dirtied feet._

_Great, his mom wasn't going to be happy about this._

_He would have put on his shoes but his mom would have gotten at him if he dirtied them as well. They were new and had little dolphins swim across the sides. If he got them dirty who knows how his dad will repay him for wasting good money._

_Reaching the final step he looks over to his house that was now feet away from him. Feeling his body begin to shake and tremble uncontrollably he clutches his body as if his life hangs in the balance of it and begins to feel tears form around the corner of his eyes. Opening his mouth no sound came out but the weak sound sobbing and sniffling. _

_He didn't want to go home. Haruka didn't want to go home, and that was a fact. Unlike other kids who practically squealed at finally going home after a long day, Haruka was acting the opposite of that. He didn't want to go home, he was scared._

_He was scared._

_Haruka was scared of going home._

_Home._

_No, not home._

_Hell._

_Gulping back the large lump in his throat he rubbed his shoulders with his hands for comfort and wiped away the snot and tears with the sleeve. Holding his shoes close to his body he nodded at himself and slowly turned towards the front door of his house. _

_He bit his lip and grimaced in pain._

_Hanging his head low he utters_, "_My d-dream…" tears pool out once again. "When will my d-dream come true…" he says before opening the door to the sound of screaming and crying._

* * *

Staring up at the barren ceiling the now seventeen year old Haruka heavily sighs into the empty bathroom as he sits up straight and stares at the miniature dolphin figurine bobbing in the water. Staring at it with emotionless eyes he scoops it up into his hands and stares at it as if it were going to come to life and do something.

Waiting for the arrival of nothing he drops it back into the bath water and watches it bob up and down until it finally calms down.

Leaning against the side of the tub he raises his right hand to his face and stares at the barely visible rope marks that adorned his wrists. "Dreams…" falling back deeper into the tub he lets himself relax and close his eyes as the water gently circles around his body. "I wonder when I'll finally tell them what my dream was."

* * *

**A/N: Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoy the first chapter of my first Free! fanfiction. **

**I know I have my other fics. to finish but I just had to publish this. The vents of this story will be after the end of Free! so Haruka and the rest are already good friends with Rin since he and everyone else will play a key role. There might be some surprises in store so wait to either be amazed or shocked. Sorry if the chapter is short, it's only a prologue, the rest will be a bit longer.**

**Constructive criticism ****advised.**

**I have not decided who I want Haruka to end up with in the end so for right now Haruka isn't paired with anyone but I have a love triangle in mind between Rin and Makoto. You'll see what I'm talking about as the story progresses. **

**Once again thank you for reading, next chapter coming soon.**


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